Fancy Brass Handle 1896 Spike Detail | FANCY BRASS HANDLE MARKED 1896 - Unique brass handled fancy steel stick, stamped 1896 on shaft with a backwards 9 and fancy etching, shell shaped thimble thumb tab, 10 1/4 in. long, ex-collections of Errol Christman, Leo Stambaugh and Steve Rush [Described as follows by Leo Stambaugh, “The fancy stick came in a trade with Errol Christman about 1998 or so. We were in CA going to his get-together and then to Cerro Gordo to work on the mine shaft there. He had it on his wall of fame but he wanted a folder I had so I convinced him to trade it to me. He said it was from a manager at the Empire mine there. It is really a cool stick, almost looks like a Kindelan patent but doesn't have a split thimble, instead it's a center mounted straight thimble on a closed ring. Never saw another one like it. The brass handle is a beauty and the thimble has a neat shell or hand design.”]